This tisane came in a colorful, artsy package – a pin up style beauty lounging in a giant tea cup, in adorable strappy black pumps with a flower in her hair. The daring half blouse with the plunging neckline is fitting for the name of the tea…Just A Little Tart.

The blend contains apple, rosehips, hibiscus, citrus peel, flavors, and orange. Ingredient number three brought a shiver. Not the dreaded hibby! But honestly, I don’t hate it like some folks do, and while I am not a fan of strong hibby hot, I do enjoy it iced and sweetened.

Just to be thorough testing this tisane, I did taste it hot and unsweetened. It was, indeed, just a little tart but not terribly so. The apple really does stand out.

I poured the rest of that pot into a carafe with a little sugar and then resteeped. The second steep was quite pale in comparison to the first and the flavor was greatly subdued when I tasted it hot and sweetened, but it was really intended to flesh out the big iced and sweetened pitcher, which it did nicely. The edge is off of it and I wouldn’t mind drinking the resteep as it was.

Now that it has chilled thoroughly, I can honestly say that this is a very enjoyable iced drink and most welcome in the 90+ Fahrenheit weather we have been enduring. I really don’t taste JUST the hibiscus, and that’s a feat since hibiscus can be overpowering. It is a lovely, fruity summer tisane and very refreshing iced.

I am a music teacher, tutor, and former homeschool mom (25 years!) who started drinking loose leaf tea about seven years ago! My daughters and I have tea every day, and we are frequently joined by my students or friends for “tea time.” Now my hubby joins us, too. His tastes have evolved from Tetley with milk and sugar to mostly unadorned greens and oolongs.
We have learned so much history, geography, and culture in this journey.
My avatar is a mole in a teacup! Long story…

One thing I never realized until I started drinking tea is that when I get sick, my tastebuds stop working. Sometimes when I’m sick, my food still tastes the same but with tea there is almost a void in my tastebuds. It is like some of my tastebuds work and some are muted so everything is just off and it is all too clear that something is missing. It’s at these times I either try to drink teas I didn’t really love to being with or sick teas such as this Antivirus tea by TeaTaxi.

Made with peppermint, spearmint, rosehips, almonds, apples, ginger, rose, sunflower, calendula, osmanthus, hibiscus, and natural flavors, this is not something I would ever care to drink under normal circumstances. However, the collection of ingredients is tolerable and even nice when sick.

I brewed this both hot and iced, steeping both for 7 minutes in 200F degree water. Then I got suckered into going grocery shopping with my mother so both teas were left on the counter in their respective thermoses for a couple hours.

Starting with the iced tea, I am getting mint…mint and maybe ginger. That void is still present so the flavors are all lost for the most part but the tea feels good on my throat as I sip. Hot (well…warm), this tea has a lot more mint flavor. While the iced tea was more smooth and peppermint-like, hot it is more medicinal/spearmint tasting. Ginger is also more noticeable in the hot tea but as a soothing ginger tingle at the back of my throat. Other than that, everything else is M.I.A.

I don’t mind the lack of flavor because the tea is doing what I want and that’s soothing my sore throat and cough and hydrating me when I am not feeling 100%, especially the hot tea. If I am being honest, my preferred cold tea is probably Cold 911 by DAVIDsTEA but this is not a bad alternative.

Hey there! My name is Rachel. I’m a twenty-something from Toronto, Ontario, Canada who loves dogs and has a bit of an obsession with tea. As a child I hated the stuff since all I ever knew was Red Rose (no offense to Red Rose). However, a few years ago that all changed. I was on a diet and desperate for new flavors without adding calories and that’s when I turned to tea. I started off by going to DAVIDsTEA and Teavana for all their dessert-inspired flavors, and since I didn’t know any better, I bought 100 grams each of about twenty-something different teas. This was okay for the teas I liked but for those I didn’t I needed to find some way of getting rid of them.
Enter Steepster.com. This is where I met some incredible tea friends, discovered tea swaps, and learned of so many amazing tea companies. My desire to try all the teas grew and since joining three years ago I have tried over a thousand different teas. I have learned what ingredients I love and I have learned what flavors I don’t like. I determined my go-to brewing method is Western-style with no added milk or sweeteners, though I also enjoy cold brewing, iced teas, teapops, lattes, and smoothies. I have yet to brew gong-fu style but I hope to do so just as soon as I get the proper teaware to do it.
About a year ago, I actually stopped drinking tea but as my stash of over 200 teas started aging I decided I needed to respark my interest. I chose to take a 365 days of tea challenge on Instagram in which I post a new tea picture every day. So far it has been rather successful as I find myself drinking (and buying) more and more tea each day. Plus it enabled CuppaGeek to find me and invite me here to SororiTea Sisters.

This was a very pleasing, delicious cup of tea to enjoy on a rainy fall day! The green tea made the perfect pairing for the mild and smooth apple flavor. The apple was strong enough that I did not have to imagine it was there, but subtle enough that the smoothness of the green tea came through. There was a very mild tang at the end of each sip. The website (www.lovesometea.com) describes the tea as having ginger, strawberry, cherry and cranberry notes in addition to the apple. The after note of tartness I would contribute to the cranberry and ginger, but neither are overwhelming enough to overpower the apple and green tea flavors. The strawberry was a bit to subtle for my palate to pickup. The blend is a beautiful mix, with moderate sized fruit pieces visible within. It is very possible that my sample size didn’t contain strawberry pieces (I could see cranberry and apple easily), and I suspect that if you didn’t’ mix the blend before each cup, you’d have a slightly new adventure each go around.

All in all: I’d stock this as a good comfort tea, and name it as my favorite apple flavored tea yet.

Kristina has found life is best handled with chocolate in one hand, tea in the other, and a warm fuzzy creature nearby. She lives where it is ridiculously cold most of the year (Minnesnowta), and survives by having a hot cup of tea ready for defense. When it does warm up, ice tea keeps things from getting too out of hand! Herbal, blended and green teas are usually considered her favorite, but she is wildly adventurous, so has a rather eclectic cupboard of resources. Her most recent discovery of enjoyment in the tea realm is smokey flavored teas.
Besides admiring her tea collection and daily angsting over which to drink, she manages a menagerie of creatures, her "magical unicorn hair", and getting into trouble in the great outdoors. When trouble cannot be found, she consoles herself with a book and a cup of tea!

My coworker and I have a spiritually violent “hot potato” going with teas. We complain and toss things onto each other’s desks with aplomb. We also occasionally sneak things into each other’s collections and wait with bated breath to see whether the other will notice.

I got up to go to the bathroom yesterday and when I came back, this was on my desk. “What’s wrong with this one?” I asked. “I don’t feel it,” she said, shrugging.

So I decided to channel J.D. on Scrubs and make myself a nice iced appletini. But from tea. Sadly, not drinking booze at my desk. (Would that make more pleasant? Irritable? Sleepy? Not exactly something I can test.)

I think this is fairly pleasant. It tastes like a slightly synthetic apple (think: Jolly rancher) mixed in with a bit of citrus and tart hibiscus. (Turns out this “hibiscus” flavor is beetroot, according to the ingredients). It’s a big sweet, a bit tangy.

It’s also a really cute shade of pink.

I suspect this blend was intended to be iced. My coworker only drinks her teas hot (I’m flexible). Hot, this would probably be a little too strong & tart. I’ve found that icing teas tends to bring out the sweetness.

This tea is currently available on David’s Tea’s site. It is also available to be stolen off my desk if you’d like to continue the tradition of Hot Potato!

"Hey, everybody! I'm Leah, a graphic designer from Pennsylvania, United States. I live with my husband and rescue mutt in a house with colorful walls. I love fonts, colors, animals, flowers, novels, illustration, geeking out, and -- obviously! -- tea. I've only been heavily into tea for about a year, but I've found I tend to prefer loose blended black dessert teas. I normally drink them hot western style without anything added; if I add in some vanilla almond milk or honey, I promise I'll mention it! When I'm not blogging here, I'm blogging at leahlucci.com/starling or posting to Instagram (super_starling), so come say hi!"

The Harvest Collection, DAVIDsTEA’s Fall lineup of teas focuses fresh farm-to-table inspired blends. These teas have some new and exciting flavors that certainly had me intrigued. I brewed them all up hot, as per the company’s recommended steeping parameters.

First up is Just Beet It, a mate blend that intends to highlight the beetroot, apple, goji, and blackberries. Personally of the five teas, this is one of two I was most worried about due to the mate base. Luckily for me, it doesn’t seem as though there is much of it among the dry leaf. Anyways, I brewed this up and it came out a beautiful clear reddish-pink color. I am pleased to report, the earthy rainforest note often associated with mate is not found here. Instead, this tea is light and fruity with clear berry notes (leaning more towards blackberry actually, though the raspberry is still very much present) and an apple sweetness. Tartness from the gojis pop up here and there which is a welcome distraction from the other, sweeter ingredients. I don’t get much in the way of beets, though other than that, it seems like DAVIDs aptly described this tea

Next is Pear Blossom, the other blend I was most worried about trying, this time due to the addition of stevia. This is a herbal infusion that hopes to bring out the flavors of pear, papaya, pineapple, and sunflower. It steeps up a clear yellowish tone and has a great pear scent. Unfortunately for me, as expected, the stevia is just too much for my tastes to handle. I get a touch of pear flavor and some distinctive peach flavoring and even a slight nod towards florals but that all devolves into the cloying sweetness of stevia.

Honeycrisp Apple, the one I am most indifferent about trying, is one I have tried before. Of the group, I believe this is the only returning tea. It is a green tea which is concentrated around apples, of course. Steeped, it is incredibly clear, with slight blush undertones. The flavor is also very light. Too light in fact that I find myself searching for anything at all more than just sweet. In the past when I had this iced, I remember it being more flavorful and representative of its namesake but as a hot tea it is just too muted and thus rather forgettable.

This next tea, Wild Strawberry, I found particularly compelling due to the rosemary. A herbal blend of strawberry, hibiscus, and vanilla, spiked with a sprig of the herb to keep things interesting. It brews up the color of all other strawberry/hibscus blends and also has a familiar taste. This reminds me slightly of DAVIDsTEA’s Strawberry Rhubarb Parfait, with a clear and juicy strawberry flavor that is a little tart, but with the vanilla giving it that creaminess as opposed to yogurt chips. Unfortunately, like with so many other DAVIDsTEA blends that boast a cream element, as this one does, there is also an artificial note that is offputting. On the other hand, the rosemary, though less prominent than I expected, does add a unique quality to this blend that I enjoyed.

Finally we have Orange Glow. Now I am not usually one for orange teas but this herbal blend of carrots, orange, and ginger smelled so good that I got a whole 50 grams of it, as opposed to my usual sample size (granted I got the 50 grams for free with the purchase of a Tea Press but still). So, with that much in my stash, I have my fingers crossed that this will be good. First thing I noticed, is it steeps up the usual deep purplish-red of a hibiscus-rich herbal. Here’s hoping that doesn’t transfer over to the taste… thankfully it does not. This is an interesting tea actually, one unlike other DAVIDsTEA blends I have had before. The orange is there in flavor but subtle and lacking its typical brightness while there is a lot of carrot sweetness but no actual carrot flavor. There is also a touch of ginger flavor but no spicy kick. If I am being honest, the combination of the components, while not bad per-se, falls a bit flat.

All in all, for me, this collection misses the mark. Each tea has its potential but none quite reach it. Perhaps more experimenting can help make these better but brewed hot, per recommended steeping parameters, none of these made a great first impression. The teas are worth a try given they are different than DAVIDsTEA’s usual Fall lines and I will say, of the lot I was surprised to enjoy Just Beet It as much as I did, but even that isn’t making it onto any favorites lists anytime soon.

Here’s the scoop!

Description

Savour the sunshine with this collection of five fruity fall teas. With sweet apple and lively green tea, Honeycrisp Apple captures that orchard freshness we love so much. Orange Glow is a vibrant blend of carrot, ginger and orange. Pear Blossom tastes just like biting in to a juicy Anjou pear. Wild Strawberry combines ripe berries with a lively twist of rosemary. And with beetroot, goji berries and blackberries, Just Beet It is the perfect way to put some pep in your step

I am a late 30s something mom who loves her family, will be getting married to a wonderful guy and has 4 kids (2 mine-2 his). We have a beautiful life together and I wouldn't change a thing.
Tea is a passion that quickly turned into an obsession, very similar to my love for polka dots, the horror genre, and anything that is geeky and fun. I drink all kinds of tea and will try a tea twice to make sure I didn't bumble the first infusion.
Besides SororiTea Sisters, I'm also the blogger and genius (I use that word very loosely) behind CuppaGeek, where I review tea, books, and the horror genre.